Chapter 434 - Scandal

Tong summoned Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, and Qiao Xuan to the throne room.

When the three arrived, everyone looked at them with a mixed feeling, especially Sun Jian.

"This lowly concubine greets his majesty."

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao took the lead as they knelt. After being here for a while, they learned the customs and Tong’s ways of doing things, including bed activities.

Both Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao already had their first night with Tong. Since they were noblewomen, there was no need to use the [Lust] curse like Wang Yi, who had an obvious connection with Khan.

As a result, their grace, manner, etiquette, and beauty were intact, just like Cai Wenji and Du Shi.

The two high-class consorts and Qiao Xuan knelt and waited for Tong to speak.

"Both of you."

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Have you married someone else before you came to Ye Palace?"

"What!?"

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were shocked by the sudden accusation. Still, they regained her composure in an instant since they had done nothing wrong.

Da Qiao spoke for both of them, "I was a pure maiden through and thorough before our first night. You should have known that, your majesty."

She implied that Tong was the one who stole her virginity, and he should have known full well.

Xiao Qiao was more direct, "My blood is still on your bed sheet this morning, your majesty. Have someone check it."

The crowd murmured, while Qiao Xuan sighed in embarrassment.

Tong laughed, "Of course, I know. Unfortunately, someone has accused you that you had married someone before you arrived here, so I need to clarify it that you’re innocent."

Qiao Xuan widened his eyes and turned to Sun Jian and his men, who were sweating bullets.

"Are you accusing my granddaughters of infidelity!?"

Scandals and adultery were like death sentences in this era, especially to women. Any woman found having an affair always got executed without a trial. As for men, most of them scotched free if they were from a noble family. But for commoners, the softest punishment was castration, while the cruelest punishment was death by a thousand slices.

Something like this was unacceptable to Qiao Xuan. He would never want his granddaughters to die because of a baseless accusation.

Sun Jian stuttered, "N-No, I didn’t mean to ..."

"MY GRANDDAUGHTERS NEVER TALKED TO A MAN OTHER THAN HIS MAJESTY!! HOW DARE YOU SLANDER THEM!!"

Qiao Xuan was infuriated. He forgot where he was and stood up, pointing his finger at Sun Jian. The minister was confident that his granddaughters never had any relationship with a man in their life as he raised them like his precious daughters.

He wanted to kill Sun Jian and his followers right away.

Tong clapped his hands, snapping Qiao Xuan back to his sense.

"Calm down, senior Qiao. I only need the testimony of your granddaughters. Obviously, I knew that they are not at fault. So relax."

Qiao Xuan realized what he did. He kowtowed to Tong, "I swear that my granddaughters had never seen a man in their life before they came here, your majesty! Please believe me!"

"I know. Just relax."

"Thank you, your majesty!"

Qiao Xuan glanced at Sun Jian while he was kowtowing. His eyes did not hide his contempt.

Sun Jian was ashamed for what he had done. He also knelt and kowtowed to both Qiao Xuan and Tong.

"This is my mistake. Please accept my deepest apology!"

Qiao Xuan snorted while Tong nodded.

"Okay. The three of you can leave."

Qiao Xuan and the two concubines excused themselves and left the throne room.

After they had left, Tong turned to Sun Jian.

"I think you should realize by now what your son has tried to do to them, but I have to explain to everyone here, so they won’t get the wrong idea."

Tong coughed and looked at his thousand retainers in the throne room. All executives, civil officers, minor officials, and many sergeants of his army were here.

"I did some investigation on Sun Ce and Sun Fang long ago, and I found out that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu have been pursuing Qiao Xuan’s daughters. I didn’t pay attention to this intel at first until the girls in question showed up here last year. I sent my men to investigate further after these girls had said they wanted to be my concubines, and I found that they were trying to escape from Sun Ce and Zhou Yu’s grasp."

Tong left a hint that the two Qiaos were being pursued by two youths, who had a connection with Sun Jian.

As all attendants in the throne room enjoyed overthinking, they widened their eyes as they obtained a scandalous scoop!

Sun Ce wanted one of the Qiaos as his wife, but they ran away from him to join the emperor’s harem. However, Sun Jian claimed that his son had married one of them!

This kind of drama was entertaining. All officers had something to gossip with their friends now.

The murmurs echoed in the throne room after Tong had spread ill rumor for Sun Ce.

Sun Jian could not retort or protect his son’s reputation. He swallowed his shame and bowed to Tong.

"This servant shall go back and reeducate my children. I promise you that this disgraceful son of mine will be strictly punished."

"Please do. I don’t want their names to be soiled by stupid gossips."

.

.

Although Tong said that he did not want gossips, he told Xun Yu and all generals in the clan chat to spread the scandal rumors. He also did not forget to tell his men to make Sun Ce the bad guy that tried to force himself on the Qiao sisters.

Within a month, everyone in the northern region knew about the scandal. All soldiers, commoners, housewives, and merchants kept gossiping about their relationship, enjoying the drama and exaggerating events.

"The two Qiaos ran away from Lujiang and asked his majesty for protection. That’s why they became his concubines?"

"Sun Ce and Zhou Yu wanted to rape those poor girls!?"

"His majesty rescued the girls in a forest from a tiger. That’s why they joined his majesty’s harem?"

"Where is this rescue story coming from!? From where I heard, Sun Ce demanded Qiao Xuan hand over his granddaughters in exchange for his position in his ranks, but Qiao Xuan took them here."

"The Little Conqueror of Jiangdong is actually a spoiled brat?"

"Sun Ce is gay to Zhou Yu!?"

"Wait a minute ... The last guy, I have several questions."

The stories varied, depending on the regions and the local’s imagination.

.

April 14th, 193 A.D.

Sun Jian, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Cheng Pu also arrived at Jianye, the capital of the Sun Clan.

Also, they came with the leaked scandal stories from Ye City, which reached the ears of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

Both of their faces flushed in anger. Even the calm Zhou Yu could not take it anymore.

Sun Ce bellowed in the middle of their meeting hall, "I’ve had enough! We’re not going to join forces with Zhang Tong anymore! I want him dead!"

Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao squinted their eyes as they watched the ballistic Sun Ce go berserk in the meeting.

The recent events were suspicious. At first, they thought that it was just another political accusation from Tong’s side to slander Sun Ce or frame him. However, Sun Ce’s reaction was odd.

It was as if this young lord and Zhou Yu really had a relationship with the two Qiaos.

They turned to Sun Jian, asking for what had happened at Ye.

"What’s wrong with him, my lord? What’s his relationship with the rumor and Zhang Tong’s concubines?"

Although Sun Jian was embarrassed, he whispered to the two elders, telling what had happened a few months ago. He recited the words of Qiao Xuan every word and Tong’s reaction.

"Do you think Bofu is in the wrong?" Asked Sun Jian.

Zhang Zhao nodded, "From the looks of it, Bofu’s reaction resembled of a broken heart youth. We can say the same to Gongjin if you look at his face."

Sun Jian glanced at Zhou Yu, who had also failed to keep his emotion in check.

Traces of blood veins could be seen on this young strategist’s face as his face was as red as Sun Ce. They could notice that Zhou Yu had been gritting his teeth and clenched his fists to the point that blood dripped from his palms.

"This is not good. At this rate, they will really rebel against the emperor," Zhang Hong was concerned about the two.

Sun Jian sighed, "What can we do? Should we tell his majesty to forgive them?"

Both his advisors shook their heads, "We’ll need you to take the helm and strip Bofu and Gongjin from power. They are not in the condition to govern our people. With their mentality, they will likely try to gather forces and rebel. Then, it will be the end of us."

Sun Jian nodded and stood up. He walked to Sun Ce, who had been drinking and screaming at his subordinates.

A fist connected to Sun Ce’s face.

*PA*

After getting punched by his father, Sun Ce turned to Sun Jian.

"Dad, why!?"

"Shut up. From today onwards, I’ll be the grand commander of all forces of our clan."

Zhou Yu stood up, "Senior Sun! We’re in a critical situation. Please give us a few years to reinforce our foundation, so we can fight against both Cao Cao and Zhang Tong."

"There is no fighting. We’re working for the emperor from now on. That’s an order!"

Sun Ce was shocked. He could not accept surrendering, "We can’t! We’re supposed to break free from the Han Dynasty! Serving Zhang Tong is impossible!"

"Who decides what is possible and what is impossible!? Are you my father or what!?"

*PA*

Sun Jian slapped his son before he turned to his three generals. Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang stepped forward.

"Separate Bofu and Gongjin and put them on a house arrest. From now on, I take charge here."